The final hike of Alex’s and my honeymoon in New Zealand was to Brewster Hut. The hike was another New Zealand classic: relatively short, but strenuous. In less than 3 miles we gained 3,200’ of elevation over gnarly roots and steep ridges.
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One of the places I was most excited to visit in New Zealand was Mueller Hut in Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. Like most of our experiences on the South Island, our overnight trip to Mueller Hut was affected by the weather. But this time, a weather delay actually worked in our favor!
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When we touched down in Queenstown, New Zealand the weather was beautiful. Blues skies stretched for as far as the eye could see and there was nary a cloud in sight. This seemed to bode well for the trip we had planned for the next day: the Routeburn Track. However, the forecast told a different story.
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Alex and I sat in our rental car at the Blue Pools Trailhead and listened to the rain patter against the roof. I let disappointment wash over me. The forecast for the day called for unabating rain but as we drove to the trailhead I still held onto some hope that the forecast would be wrong and the dark, foreboding clouds above us would miraculously dissipate. They did not.
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Usually during the winter months I have the urge to retreat into the coziness of my apartment, but there is something about a snow-covered landscape that brings me such joy and so, even though I’d like to stay in, I head out! In past years I’ve gone on a skiing or winter camping trip about once a month, but this year I’ve made a concerted effort to go on as many winter hikes as the weather allows.
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On Friday, February 1 my friend Nate texted me and asked if Alex and I would like to join him for a sunrise mission up Mt. Ellinor in Olympic National Forest the very next day. It would mean we would have to wake up at 1am two Saturdays in a row (the weekend prior we climbed Mt. St. Helens), but we immediately said “yes!”
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I’m not a peak bagger, I don’t suffer from summit fever, and I have no burning desire to stand on top of the highest mountains. I actually prefer looking at mountains from below, staring up at their lofty peaks, being overwhelmed by their impossibly massive walls, and admiring their powerful presence. But, sometimes I make an exception and that is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when Alex and I set out with a group of friends with the goal of summiting Mount St. Helens and skiing off the summit.
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Last month we experienced an unseasonably dry and sunny November for Washington. Weekend after weekend the forecast was favorable so on November 17 Alex and I and a group of new friends took advantage of the weather with a snow camping trip to a place that’s been on our radar since we moved here: Gothic Basin.
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